


Water Ordeals

by H_E_A_R_T_H



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Depression, Detectives, F/F, F/M, Murder, PTSD, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Worldbuilding, adding tags as I go, case studies, self deprecating thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-28 10:57:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H_E_A_R_T_H/pseuds/H_E_A_R_T_H
Summary: Lacuna Embassan sees herself above everyone. That is, until she finds the tables forcibly turned on her. Instead of putting criminals behind bars, the bars surround her. Being accused of murdering one's own aunt easily ruins one's reputation, as well as the impression others have of her. Ignis Scientia isn't so easily swayed.





	1. A Special Sort of Prelude

Not many people, let alone young women, see the world as a test. Maybe of faith or something of the sort, but nothing like the views Lacuna Embassan held in her mind like a blinding fog. The meaning of existence to her is purely to test the people around her. Lacuna sees herself as the examiner and humanity is her test subjects. Some could describe this as admirable, an unwavering grit carved in stone, immune to degradation just by pure willpower. 

Scurra Rubrum is by no means old, but he does have obvious seniority to him. His orange hair now has grey speckles, like parts of a cloud beginning their path to covering the sun. He doesn't have the body his wife claims to remember, either. His kindness has aged like fine wine, and that's why he's been suspecting that he'd be paired up with someone on the difficult side. Now, this isn't necessarily a problem. Every partner Scurra has been paired up with has come around at one point or another, but by now it's become predictably degrading. Irregular changes in uncivil partners lead Scurra to believe he'd become some sort of discipline aid to the new recruits. Again, the man is kind, and this was a leading factor to his silence.

The day arrived when Scurra would meet Lacuna. The man takes the day like usual, one step at a time and with a skip. There has never once been an instance where Scurra has been stopped at the door for anything other than a quick greeting or farewell. Today, his bicep is gripped in an iron hold, and familiar dark eyes stared back at him. A young boy with a cigarette between his fingers, he started last year, but Scurra couldn't remember his name for the life of him. He remembered the boy also wanted to become a detective one day, though it was a fleeting dream, too difficult with his lightheaded attitude.

"I think it would be best if you were careful." He states in one quick breath, hands shaking from what Scurra presumes to be the cold weather. "She's really something. I saw a flip knife in her back pocket, watch out for that, too."

The boy's firm tone is unbefitting of his round, freckled face, but Scurra only smiles. "I think I'll be _fine_," The elder reassures, patting the boy's hand before he takes it off the other man's bicep. "I should say the same to you. You'll be retired within a year if you keep smoking those."

A smile cracks through the boy's placid face, but it's fought off. "Don't say I didn't warn you." It comes out in a begging tone rather than a comment. Scurra fights back unease as he parts ways with the young boy, though glad the topic's over with. No one else rises over greetings as he enters his workplace, and Scurra finds his way to his desk easy.

The spare desk beside Scurra's is occupied for the first time in months. The woman sitting there stares back at him with wide dark eyes, a short well-kept bob framing her white face. Now The man is able to see what had gotten the young boy so worked up; the scar. It runs along the right side of her face, ranging from her collar bone, over a dull brown eye, and cutting off a portion of her widow's peak. To say Lacuna Embassan is intimidating would be an understatement.

When the woman gets up, it's evident she could be mistaken for just a girl; she's only five feet in height and underdeveloped, with a rounded face. Lacuna moves like liquid, taking steps that look more like gliding as she clears the space between the two. "I'm Lacuna Embassan." She sticks out a hand, "I'll be working with you for the time being. I brought a case."

Scurra takes her hand and grins, "Glad to finally put a pretty face to the name." He comments, though she isn't impressed. Lacuna goes as far as to roll her eyes and click her tongue. Scurra is interrupted before he can save his comment with a lighthearted joke.

"A woman was shot in her own apartment. All the doors were locked, the window was open." Lacuna summarizes as she picks up the manila folder, handing it to the older man. "I look forward to solving this case with you, lieutenant Rubrum."


	2. Intrusive Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scurra and Lacuna get to know each other as colleagues. The unexpected one of the duo manages to learn more than the other.

Working with each other isn't unbearable, but Scurra quickly discovers that this partner wouldn't be like his last. A month passes with their case, and with no leads, it becomes cold. The two pick up a new case, and they move on. Or so the man thought. He's caught Lacuna peering at the case file on more than one occasion, face portraying the only definite emotion he's ever been able to make out; cold, persistent determination.

By now it'd be easy to find a crack in his partner's resolve. A fleeting text, coming into work at a different time, missing a day. Any type of slip up, but there is none to be found. If Scurra didn't know any better, he'd say Lacuna doesn't have a life out of work. But she's young, a fresh detective probably right out of school, escaping the long ladder some insistent folks manage to crawl up. There has to be some sort of guardian behind her, someone at home waiting. Exploiting that topic expertly usually lets the wall between the partners crumble to dust, too gone to ever rebuild. But the barrier is circular, thick and tall, and sometimes, Scurra forgets his partner is a young girl. Sometimes it feels like his partner is a faceless wall, her ambitions clouding his perception of this young girl and replacing it with a contrivance. 

Lacuna, on the other hand, doesn't see Scurra as a partner. Rather, she views him the same as a farmer peering down at new crops. Different and unique, but not out of their understanding. Scurra is only a new specimen she's able to see grow and flourish. Within that month, she sees despite being the younger, Scurra unknowingly learns from her. He makes faster deductions, whether it's to impress his newest partner or to try and match her pace, she couldn't care less. The man isn't stupid, and if he were a little younger, he'd be a perfect permanent partner. There's so much room to grow, if only his age gave her the time to see the improvement she could implement.

Overtime Lacuna has seen many people develop into completely different people with her aid unbeknownst to them. She's become an expert at fertilizing people right under their noses, giving them the room and potential to grow that they couldn't attain without her prodding. It isn't a matter of whether or not Lacuna likes them, that term is too easily thrown about and quite frankly, overused. Lacuna becomes interested in people. With interest comes the frigid pins and needles of attraction. None of these feelings come close to romantic, only philosophical intrigue.

Usually, people who escape Lacuna's scrutiny never return. It seems King Regis is immune to Lacuna's skeptical criticism. Time after time, she finds her nose glued to a new article. Between them, she promises herself the King means nothing to her, but Lacuna never seems to heed her own instructions. This article isn't anything special, it's published by some news outlet she'd never heard the name of, Lacuna doubts it's reliable. It's some rubbish about trade agreements, nothing particularly special. Especially if they're the first ones to be reporting it. The girl reads it over several times, trying to form an opinion. She's too stubborn to admit to herself that she doesn't have one.

Scurra's hand is callused and surprisingly light on Lacuna's shoulder. It startles her nearly out of her seat, and she turns with one eye widened. The other remains unresponsive, the skin around it red and brittle. "Hey, calm down, it's just little old me." Scurra takes the hint, moving his hand and putting them both in her line of vision. He grins, nodding his head towards the girl's computer screen. "I never took you for a politic lover."

She isn't. She doesn't know anything about Lucis's politics. She does know that Regis is King, and she doesn't always agree with his decisions. Whether it's updating trade policies or putting a literal fucking wall around the crown city. Instead of voicing this, Lacuna takes a deep breath and responds neutrally. "It's important to know the basics." She lies through her teeth. It isn't, she's only singling out Regis's decisions, not the entirety of Lucis.

` Scurra takes her response as an invitation to continue the conversation. It was, in fact, the opposite. A white lie to steer him away, but he didn't know that. The man wheels his chair from his desk across from her, sitting beside her. "Glad to know I ain't the only one. We're law enforcers, yet none of these idiots give a damn about the laws outside of jailing people." He comments idly, giving a far off worker a pointed look in a playful manner. "Working under the King does have its perks. Knowing the politics means knowing the big dude that employs us, you get me?"

Lacuna feels the same, but for the exact opposite reason. "I understand." She states anyway. "But we don't necessarily work for Regis."

That bold statement causes Scurra to pause for a second, replaying the words in his head several moments before he responds. "Uh... yeah?" He drawls out in confusion, "He pays us. Our case files are official royal documents, too."

"Regis only employs us." Lacuna elaborates, "The Glaive is who we truly work for. They are our bosses, they are who we do all this work for. We would have no cases to complete if it weren't for them carrying out our evaluations with our cases."

The gears turning in Scurra's head are practically audible. "That's... a unique way to put it." He tries to swerve the conversation back in place before it derails completely. "You remind me of someone from a show me and my wife watched, I'm sure you've watched Logicality."

"I don't have time to watch tv." Lacuna responds, "I'm a detective. I don't have time for hobbies, and I don't have time to be talking to you. I read an article - _one article_ \- because it caught my eye. Once I was done I planned to get back to work, but I can't do that with you distracting me." 

If Lacuna's outburst affects Scurra, he doesn't show it. He only smiles, chuckling. "Sorry about that," He tells her as he gets up and begins moving his chair. "I get a little carried away sometimes. Carry on!"

Now it's Lacuna who's caught off guard. She'd previously been telling little lies in order to keep the man's spirits up. It seems telling the truth worked on him, and she'd be able to express herself freely without endangering Scurra's growth.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so glad I've finally started writing this! I've had a draft of this for over two months (it was terrible, I rewrote it completely). I'll be writing this irregularly, and it serves mostly as a vent fic. It's really close to me for some reason. None of the characters are based on me, yet I just found so much comfort in creating the plot and characters and just overall, this story gives me so much comfort and evokes so many feelings for me. I thank whoevers read this ramble and short prologue, and I hope I'm able to tug on your emotion strings too.


End file.
